Fire, Fire Burning Bright
by Mademoiselle Anime Amour
Summary: Kairi never thought much of Axel upon first meeting--he did kidnap her after all. But, she discovers more to him than what he comes off as. Rated T. R&R please!


**A/N: Hi, guys, this is yet another one-shot. However, I'm updating one of my stories called Heartless Passion this weekend, in case anyone cares. XD But, now...this is Axel and Kairi: The Untold Story. Hahaha... I hope all of you like it.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything off Kingdom Hearts.**

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**Fire, Fire Burning Bright**

As soon as he stepped through that portal and abandoned the three teenagers in Twilight Town, Axel knew he had to deal with his hostage. She struggled energetically, putting up a major bravado of trying to escape.

Too bad that she didn't have a choice.

He could barely suppress a sadistic smirk from revealing itself; Kairi was just so pathetic, it almost made him want to laugh. But, only almost, considering he too had landed himself in the same position—trapped, alone, and miserable if he had a heart. She held her head high, though, looking at him with a condescending gaze, stubborn blue eyes steadfastly attempting to burn a hole through him.

Axel dismissed the glare with a wave of his free hand, the other one gripping her arm tightly. "You think your stupid glare is gonna intimidate me? Think again, Kairi. If you could fight, then maybe I would be a little concerned. But, since you're weak and helpless, I find this amusing."

"Shut up!" she snapped, tossing her auburn hair wildly without a thought to how messy it would appear. The girl had guts, he had to admit.

"Whatever, but just because you're a little princess doesn't mean I'm your faithful servant, got it?"

He only received a blank stare of confusion in response.

With a snort, he continued on his way through Hollow Bastion as he tried to make himself inconspicuous by telling random strangers he was just picking up a little sister from school. Inconspicuous? He could wish!

The fact that he constantly wore a black hooded robe proved that he already sided with a villainous Organization; actually, he was surprised the townspeople believed him when he told his lie.

"Pfft, villagers are so gullible!" Axel remarked when the two of them exited the town filled with kiosks and talkative citizens.

They now strode down the path (Kairi was dragged aggressively) toward the Crystal Fissure. The famous luminescent lights of this location could be seen even as they descended the staggered pathway. Blues and greens shone brightly due to the sun's tender rays resting on the crystallized formations in the rather cramped fissure. Kairi thought that she could enjoy this beauty...if only the idiotic redhead beside her had gone off somewhere ages ago.

Glancing sideways at him, she inspected his looks, which she found attractive. It was just a shame that they happened to be blessed to an ugly person like Axel. She hated the way he gripped her arm, which would bleed if he wasn't too careful. And she hated how captivating his emerald eyes looked in the dying rays of sunset. She despised every quality possible about him, though she discovered a manner in which she could elude him.

He had stopped to appraise the sunset and its tapestry of colors; Kairi had doubted his ability to actually seem human for once.

Then again, maybe his personality consisted of more decent aspects than she had assumed. For some reason, his eyes had taken on a sorrowful, empty glow, as if he had recalled certain tragic events in his life—he seemed to express that by standing still. She almost wished to sympathize with him, help him in any way she could...before realizing he had kidnapped her.

Recognizing she had an advantage over Axel due to his being distracted, Kairi moved under his slackened hand quickly in order to elude him forever. Once free, she started sprinting faster and harder than she could have ever dreamed—she hadn't been the best runner among the students in gym class. She pumped her legs as sweat began to form on her brow, though she was confident in the fact that just maybe...

Unfortunately, she sensed a particularly abusive gloved hand clutching her arm to the point that her skin turned bone white.

She looked up at Axel with fear in her oceanic eyes, the bravery fleeting from them. He was angry now, she could see that, his smirk completely erased from his face.

"You just don't get it, do you?!?" he shouted. "How stupid are you, Kairi? Answer me!"

"Let. Go. Of. Me!" Kairi yelled through gritted teeth, pushing herself away from his vice-like hold.

Blood spurted from an extensive cut on her arm, formed due to having Axel grip her too forcibly for too long. His eyebrows shot up in surprise once he registered the fact she had been injured. A practically compassionate expression formed briefly on his face as he observed that she had collapsed on the ground. She winced in pain, rubbing her eyes consistently to stop the tears from falling while maintaining her glare.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, kneeling down to try to help her for once.

Kairi slapped his hand away. "Leave me alone! You haven't bothered with me before—why now?"

Axel stood up to his full height of approximately six feet and took on an affronted stare. "Can I at least treat your wound?"

"No!"

He found himself chuckling roughly. "Of course you'd say that. You're stubborn. But, you forgot...so am I!"

Promptly ripping a narrow strip of his cloak, he wrapped it around the location of the wound. Shocked, Kairi looked on with a loss for words.

Why would he do this for her?

Later that night, she shivered in the refuge of the Crystal Fissure, still gaping at Axel with wide eyes. The moment when he used a strip of his cloak as her bandage replayed over and over again in her mind, much like the cherished scene of a movie. He had actually assisted her, as weird as that sounded to her. After the cruel words thrown and the constant of that gloved hand holding too tightly, she had considered him pure evil. But, now that she found that this wasn't the case...

"Hey, Kairi, you're shivering. I think I can take care of that."

Axel had been asleep and had just awakened, looking at her with the kindest emerald orbs she had yet seen from him. A flick of his wrist, and flames arranged similarly to a campfire roared into life. Kairi scooted over to the elemental source of warmth to place her hands near it.

"Why...Why are you being so nice to me?" she asked, tilting her head inquisitively toward him.

He shrugged. "What can I say? I have my weaknesses. Being the good guy occasionally is one of them."

Kairi had a new-found respect for this young man, despite all the hell he had put her through. In the end, he proved himself worthy enough to be classified as a friend. Still, there had to be some ulterior motive to this behavior.

"No, seriously, why are you being nice to me? I bet you would have killed me before."

"Nah!" He waved his hand carelessly. "That's what the other guys would have done, but not me. I'm above killing."

"But you're not above tormenting," she countered, blowing on her hands as she gathered friction.

Suppressing the urge to smile, Axel replied genuinely, "True. I've taught you well, haven't I?"

Cautiously, Kairi gazed at him through the flames. "What do you mean?"

"Figure that out for yourself," he snorted, though not unkindly.

"Axel?"

"Yeah?"

For some reason, even unknown to her, she walked around the bonfire and seated herself next to him. "I'm sorry."

He perked up an eyebrow again; this girl was full of surprises. She tried to inform him that she basically loathed him two hours ago, and now she apologized? Knowing fully well that he should serve as the one saying sorry, Axel sighed out of sheer exasperation. "Could you be any more stupid?"

Here it went, Kairi predicted, here he would regress to his insults. Should she have felt shocked, though, really? But, what Axel said next truly did give her chills up her spine.

"I'm the one who kidnapped you, so the only one who should do the apologizing is me. Got it memorized?" He pointed to his temple with that irrepressible smirk on his face.

She smiled back. "Yeah, I guess I do. And, there's something else, too."

"What?"

Kairi resolved to do the one thing that would actually throw this trickster off guard, the one thing that would have him be the surprised one.

She kissed him.

Axel's eyes widened until they appeared that they might bulge from his skull. However, he kissed back without complaint.

Once their lips parted, he murmured, "I really have taught you well."

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**A/N: I doubt that Kairi even acted like that in the games, but whatever! She needs a freaking backbone, so I provided that in this fic. Besides, witty banter is something I enjoy putting in stories, so that's why they argued like they did. So, I hope all of you did like this, so please R&R. It's all I ask. XD**


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